Porsche has decided to remind us that its slogan sounds “Driven by Dreams”. In its latest video, one of the company’s most iconic creations – the 911 GT1 Straßenversion – hops off its museum stand and goes on a drive in the mountains.
Straßenversion, which is German for ‘street version’, is a designation that Porsche used to put on its road-legal GT models produced in the 1990s. The racing regulations of the time required manufacturers to produce a homologation batch of a few dozen street-going cars before their racecar got approved for the championship. Just how many of these exist in the world is unknown, but the most common estimate is 20 or so.
Unlike some automakers who start with a production car and then upgrade it for racing, Porsche took a purebred racer and slightly tweaked it for road use. The biggest change was the engine, which had to comply with the European emission standards. After the redesign, the 3.2-liter mill dropped from 600 to 544 PS (from 592 to 537 hp; from 441 to 400 kilowatts, respectively). Even so, the GT1 Straßenversion hits highway speed in les than four seconds and can reach a top speed of 308 km/h (191 mph).
